Australia clears St. Jude Medical’s Brio DBS device for Parkinson’s

St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE:STJ) received Australian regulatory approval to begin selling a deep-brain-stimulation device for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

St. Jude said its Brio device is the smallest, longest-lasting rechargeable deep-brain stimulation system on the market. The device is about the size of a wristwatch, weighing 29 grams and featuring a 10-year battery life, according to a press release.

Parkinson’s is a degenerative brain disease caused by damage to nerve cells in the brain. It often results in impaired movement and speech. Deep-brain stimulation delivers electrical pulses that block “abnormal” signals from the brain that cause tremors and other symptoms associated with the ailment.

The Australian approval gives St. Jude another market for the device and an opportunity to increase sales for its neuromodulation division. That division posted a bigger fourth-quarter sales increase, 21 percent to $94 million, than any segment at St. Jude.

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